Gary Gilmore: the murderer who inspired a classic punk track
Aside from cultural revolution and smashing the musical establishment, one of the prominent aims of the early punk rock movement was to shock. Early groups, particularly in the UK, were deliberately provocative, often donning swastikas and writing pieces about generally taboo topics. From denouncing the Royal Family to – perish the thought – swearing in their songs, punk rock was a complete rejection of the norm. Even within this shocking landscape, The Adverts topped it all with their 1977 track ‘Gary Gimore’s Eyes’.
For the uninitiated, the track may seem like a fairly bog-standard UK punk number, repeating the same formulaic approach to songwriting that characterised most of the groups at London’s Roxy Club. However, it is the backstory of the track which provides its shocking nature. As true crime fans will know, Gary Gilmore was a career criminal who murdered two people in Utah during the 1970s. The first was a gas station employee, and the second a motel manager, both of whom were students at the local university.
After accidentally shooting himself in the hand while attempting to dispose of his murder weapon, Gilmore was quickly apprehended by police. The murderer then gained notoriety after demanding the death penalty for his actions. Unusually, Gilmore was executed by firing squad, a process which is now banned in most US states. Even more unusual for a murderer, Gilmore demanded that his usable organs be donated to those who needed them. So, in the hours following his execution, his eyes were harvested and transplanted to two individuals who were in need. Some of his other organs – the ones unaffected by being pumped full of lead, presumably – were donated, too.
This morbid scenario provided the inspiration for The Adverts’ frontman, T.V. Smith, to pen the band’s defining track. The song is told from the perspective of one of the people who received Gilmore’s eyes in a transplant, featuring the recurring line “I’m looking through Gary Gilmore’s eyes”. As if that wasn’t dark enough, The Adverts envisioned a video-nasty-esque storyline whereby Gilmore’s eyes takeover their host body, imbuing them with a similar murderous streak.
Bizarrely, given its subject, ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’ provided The Adverts with their biggest commercial success, reaching number 18 in the singles charts, sandwiched between Thin Lizzy and Brotherhood of Man. Adding to the unbelievable quality of the song, The Adverts were invited on to Top of the Pops to perform the track, beaming their tale of punk rock murder into living rooms across the country.
Their performance on TOTP is likely the strangest part of this whole tale, considering the BBC’s utter hatred for punk rock and their penchant for banning tracks featuring contentious topics. It seems as though The Adverts were able to slip through the cracks, spreading the punk rock revolution outside of London to the suburbs that were previously untouched by the musical movement.
Although The Adverts were certainly not the greatest offering from the UK’s early punk scene, ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’ forms an important moment within the history of the genre. Predicting later shock-inducing songs from the likes of Dead Kennedys and Jayne County, the band certainly made an impact during their short tenure.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Punk Newsletter
All the latest Punk content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.